Coutts, the Queen’s bank, is under investigation by the Financial Services
Authority, it was revealed today.

Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Coutts, made the revelation as it reported
results for the first six months of the year today.

RBS said the FSA had last month launched an investigation into sales of a bond
fund by Coutts, which counts thousands of well-heeled customers among its
client base including more than half the England football squad.

It is understood that the investigation is directly connected to complaints
made by several wealthy Coutts clients, including Sir Keith Mills, the Air
Miles and